Parents' Childhood Invalidating Families and Children's Mental Health

The mental health problems of children and adolescents are increasingly becoming a focal point of public health and societal concern. Although existing research suggests that these problems may exhibit intergenerational transmission effects, empirical studies on the subject remain relatively limited. This study, grounded in the historical intergenerational trauma transmission model, investigates the intergenerational effects of parents' childhood experiences in invalidating family environments on preschool children's mental health, with a specific focus on the mediating roles of parents' authoritative and authoritarian parenting. Data were collected through a year-long longitudinal survey conducted across six kindergartens in Shanghai, China, involving a total of 624 matched families. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to construct the complex relationships between parents' childhood invalidating family experiences, parenting styles, and children's mental health. The results indicate that mothers' childhood invalidating family significantly predict children's mental health problems, whereas the corresponding effect for fathers was not significant. Additionally, both authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles of mothers mediated the relationship between their childhood invalidating family experiences and children's mental health. In contrast, neither authoritative nor authoritarian parenting styles of fathers demonstrated significant mediating effects in this relationship. This study enriches the theory of intergenerational trauma transmission, highlights the pivotal role of mothers in family upbringing, and provides empirical evidence for intervention strategies aimed at improving children's mental health.